MTI Committees in Full Force
One of the powerful strengths of the Metal Treating Institute is its volunteer committees and task force teams. MTI’s committees and task force teams are made up of heat treaters and suppliers. They each meet throughout the year digging into industry issues and MTI programs to develop strategies and provide feedback to innovate and help Members grow their business, as well drive value with MTI Member programs.
The following are the developments from recent committee meetings:
Heat Treat 4.0 Task Force
The purpose of the Heat Treat 4.0 Task Force is to be looking into the future and discovering “What’s Next in Heat Treating” and innovate solutions to help Members stay in front of change. The task force has been meeting the last year to discover where MTI needs to put its efforts to help Members maximize opportunities in the future. After a lot of ideas and discussion, the task force recently recommended the MTI Board of Trustees approve a progressive strategy to tackle workforce development. Over 40% of Members surveyed stated that a lack of qualified workers is the #1 obstacle to growth in their business. With that, the task force developed a well thought out strategy in partnership with WorkerBee TV, and recommended the MTI Board approve the Jobs of Tomorrow Workforce Development Strategy. MTI is currently raising funds from MTI Members and requesting a grant from the MTI Educational Foundation to help kickoff the funding needed to proceed with the strategy. To encourage MTI Members to double their donations, MTI is going to match $1 to the Jobs of Tomorrow Strategy for every $1 contributed by Members, up to a maximum of $45,000. Currently MTI has raised $26,500 of the $45,000 needed to move forward with the workforce development strategy. To see full details of the Jobs of Tomorrow strategy and become an investor in this important industry movement, CLICK HERE.
Technical Standards Committee
MTI’s Technical Standards Committee has over 20 heat treaters and suppliers that meet 4 times a year to discuss changes, updates, and activities related to audit processes and technical specification changes with CQI-9 in automotive, 2750, 2759, general aerospace specs, Nadcap checklist, MedAccred, ASTM hardness testing, and numerous other general industry specifications. The Technical Standards Committee recently met to discuss the activities of the May ASTM meeting, April AMEC Committee meeting, the June Nadcap meeting, and developments with AS 13100 for aerospace engine specifications. The committee leadership will be reporting on the full developments for each of these areas in their next LIVE webcast update to the membership on July 18 at 2:00 pm ET. CLICK HERE to RSVP for the webcast.
During the June meeting of the committee, the issue of how members are using the AI ChatGPT technology was discussed in detail regarding the risks associated with using it. Out of that conversation, an informative article was put together by Throughput-Bluestreak, which is a must read by every MTI Member. It shares the risks you have with your company IP by not being aware of how to use it effectively. Make sure to read the article at CLICK HERE.
Benchmarking Committee
MTI’s Benchmarking Committee recently met to discuss MTI’s Annual Wage and Benefit Survey to see any areas of improvement for 2023 data submission starting on July 1. With high inflation and post COVID wages continuing to be all over the place, the wage and benefit survey has become a valuable resource for members. The committee reviewed the list of job classifications and made three notable additions to the survey:
- Added job class for Automation Controls Engineer for plants who are implementing robotics and artificial intelligence.
- Added job class for VP/Director of a Department who oversee the manager level of the company.
- Added a question on who is outsourcing fractional labor for positions like CFO, CMO, sales lead generation, and outside sales reps.
The committee felt like the updates help keep pace with changes happening in the labor market and provide Members with the right comparative analysis to make informed labor decisions in 2023 and 2024.
A key resource from MTI’s Benchmarking Committee is also the quarterly sales forecasting report and webcast on the report. The next report is due out in middle of August with the LIVE webcast taking place on August 31. CLICK HERE to see full details and link to view webcast.
Education Committee
Over the last 2 months, the MTI Education Committee has met to debrief the MTI Spring Meeting in Naples, FL this past May, brainstorm and plan the educational content for MTI’s Fall Meeting, and look at options to expand the for the growing YES Management Training Program. The committee has finalized the education programming and believes it hits the mark on key issues MTI Members are facing in the future with artificial intelligence, predictive maintenance, and how to grow your business with less employees. The Fall Meeting is MTI’s 90th anniversary celebration and promises to be an exciting and energizing learning and networking experience. To view full details of the Fall meeting, CLICK HERE.
MTI Educational Foundation
Over the past month, the MTI Educational Foundation has been receiving applications for MTI’s $51,000 in scholarships it approved to award in 2023. This month, the Foundation Board will be meeting to review and finalize the recipients. The Foundation Board is also be considering a grant request by the MTI Board of Trustees to help fund the Jobs of Tomorrow Workforce Development Strategy. To see more information on the MTI Educational Foundation, CLICK HERE.